Inside the Star

Bravery and death at swirling Moon River

Locals know better than to jump off Moon River Falls when the water below looks like that: angry, foam-tipped and swirling viciously. But seven out-of-towners from the GTA did just that Sunday afternoon, and yesterday at a picturesque Muskoka campground three of them were still missing, almost certainly drowned.

Locals know better than to jump off Moon River Falls when the water below looks like that: angry, foam-tipped and swirling viciously. But seven out-of-towners from the GTA did just that Sunday afternoon, and yesterday at a picturesque Muskoka campground three of them were still missing, almost certainly drowned.

Of those who survived, two almost drowned and were airlifted to Parry Sound Hospital; the other two suffered minor injuries. All were said to be in their mid-20s.

Matt Armstrong, fishing off the dock of a rented cottage last night, said the quick reactions of a group of unacknowledged heroes – about six men, all from Barrie and all in their early 20s – saved the lives of the four survivors.

"They took a machete and cut down a tree. They threw it in the water out to those guys and pulled them out. There would have been seven dead," Armstrong said.

Late last night, family members and friends of those presumed drowned were taken by boat to the spot.

Rough waters yesterday forced police to temporarily call off their search for the three bodies. The conditions likely were due to a combination of recent heavy rains and a hydro plant upriver in Bala opening locks to relieve pressure.

Bill McRobb, who owns a business on the river and is a trained diver, dove into the surge below the falls to help police with their search.

"I'm 95 per cent sure that I saw a leg, a foot up to the knee," he said last night. "It was down at the bottom. It was pretty intense in there. I really shouldn't have gone in, but I thought I might be able to help," he said.

Above water, a sandal and a boot spun in the whirlpool, in counter-clockwise laps. Onshore, a pack of cigarettes was tucked into a shoe.

"Normally you can jump off and swim there and it's fine, but with all the rain – and they opened the locks in Bala – and it all just came down here," said McRobb's daughter LeeAnne.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Ontario Hydro have dramatically reduced the water flow upstream to stem the harsh currents.

The OPP said they expected to resume their underwater search this morning .

Yesterday, the OPP's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit attempted a search, laying safety lines and plunging into the water for hours at a time until nightfall.

LeeAnne described the campgrounds and Crown land surrounding the falls as a place where people come to party. Along with a bright T-shirt and footwear near the spot where the swimmers dove in, there were also scattered beer cans.

But LeeAnne said no local – indeed, nobody at all – would have jumped into water like that.

"I can't fathom that they jumped into that," she said. "Just looking at it, I just can't believe it."

Mark and Laureen Walsh from Toronto, who were fishing with Armstrong last night, said they have been staying at a cottage since Saturday and met the Barrie men yesterday, as they left around 4 p.m. The men had been camping next to the waterfall.

"They don't see themselves as heroes, but they are," said Laureen. "We kept telling them that. They just said they hoped someone would do the same for them in that situation."

The group said they watched the rescue efforts unfold yesterday, starting soon after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. "They had two boats, an underwater search team and an OPP chopper. They were here all day," said Mark Walsh.

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